🦋 + 🐍
(Oliver's Version)
The void that Oliver kept feeling could not be described in words. It was not like he had lost a part of himself but something felt missing. And he knew why. It wasn't her that he missed. It wasn't the coffee either, considering he had a fancy coffee machine right next to his work desk, always at his disposal. It wasn't the small walk to the café where he would be free of all worries and the consequences of his rash decisions.
It was all of it.
Because in his regular trips to the café, he would steal little moments from life to truly live. A peaceful moment where no one would care about his name or his past. A feeling of bliss with his favourite coffee in his hand and a reassuring smile on the barista's face, making him forget the demons he fought with daily. A recognition flicker in her eyes when she would prepare his order without asking him, as if she knew him and still chose to accept him. His flaws, his habits, his addictions. His stupidity of drinking iced Americano in the dead of an unpredictable monsoon.
This was his escape. It helped him forget. Only for a few moments, but for him it was enough. That's all he needed from life. To live, only if just a little.
But now, those very moments he cherished and looked forward to since he would open his eyes, first thing in the morning, were stolen from him. His day was nothing but a blur anymore. Nothing to look forward to, nothing to live for.
It was as if all his life, Oliver had been running away. Running from his past, running from the cameras chasing him, running from the rumours that would eventually get to him. And he kept falling and failing, each and every time. He was tired of running like water but it seemed like that was his very role to play by being alive.
In the wake of existence, Oliver felt like Cinderella who had until midnight to enjoy, make memories and live her best life. But time would eventually catch up and he would have to leave behind what he wanted to cling onto most. He often wondered why people craved to be Cinderella and live their own fairytale. Little did people know what happened to Cinderella after midnight when she had to return to her old version of hell and live through the same monotony after having seen the true beauty of life.
It's like having lived in darkness all your life; it is comfortable because it helps you hide behind the shadows. Until you see the light once. Because after that, when the lights go out again, the darkness that was once comforting begins to haunt you. In the worst possible ways. That galaxy hair coloured barista - or the coffee shop, Oliver didn't really know which - was this ray of light in his darkness. It was as if Oliver was just a shadow in a faded light and she was a lovely jewel whose shine reflected on him. It made him feel whole. And now when she was long gone, he was coming undone again.
As if his plethora of thoughts weren't enough, he could picture her now. Her eyes, her masked face, her petite figure making its way to him.
Wait. It wasn't quite right.
His hallucinations or memories of her seemed to be fading because she was no longer wearing her Brew Space apron or standing behind the counter. Her dress was as black as the middle of the night with bright twinkling stars and Oliver couldn't look away. Her eyes no longer held the formal politeness; they felt like the depth of a dark ocean hiding tons of secrets within. And she was walking towards him from the other end of the room, her strides unsure and shoulders slightly hunched from exhaustion.
Was she really here or was Oliver on the verge of losing his mind? To him, both possibilities sounded legit. He checked his watch once and shook his head in disappointment. His mind was definitely playing games with him because at this time, she would still be on her shift and not in a nightclub on the outskirts of town.
Just then, right before his eyes, she crossed the dance floor and took off her mask violently with the flick of an index finger. The sudden action seemed to have reignited an old wound, judging from the way she winced silently in pain. Oh, this was definitely her. Her lips were painted darker than usual - a bright shade of red that felt a lot like love or intense rage. It was then that he noticed a deep scar that ran along her thumb, all the way till the base of her palm. The mask hung from her left ear and he noticed her lips move slightly, as if memorising a script repeatedly.
Before he could call out to her, she walked past him and their shoulders brushed ever so slightly but it was enough to spark a jolt through Oliver's body. The friction of her smooth, bare skin against the fabric of his suit was nothing like a gold rush, more like a delicate beginning rush, if that even made sense. But she was gone before he could act and his face fell. Until he felt a tap on his shoulder the next second.
He turned around, his muscles stiffening up at the unexpected touch and his lips involuntarily pressing into a tight line behind his mask. Did someone recognise him? His flight instinct came knocking but a wave of relief and happiness washed over him when he saw her.
She was slouching awkwardly, her hand stuck to the same spot where she had tapped him before and she immediately withdrew contact when his eyes shifted to that spot. She whispered a quick apology that got lost into the loud music around them. Glaring at the speakers, she keenly observed parts of his face that weren't covered by the mask. And this was the first time he wasn't scared of someone looking at him. Before Oliver could open his mouth to react, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the crowd and the bustling dance floor to the rather quiet drinks area.
He didn't know what happened next but he vividly remembered how the fondness in her eyes grew into a fearful shade of apology as the smile on her lips turned into a frown. And he had no idea why. "I'm sorry." Came her reply when she looked down at his wrist.
Oliver realised what he had done. Instead of letting her fingers stay wrapped around his bare wrist after she had pulled him to a corner, he had rudely jerked his hand out of her grasp before she could let go and loosen her grip. It was completely a reflex, one he quite regretted at the moment, but he didn't know how to explain himself. It was not her touch that had startled him; it was the proximity that did. Because in the past, whenever someone had tried to step into his personal space, it never ended well. For them.
"I didn't mean to- um, scare you." She quickly explained. "I thought you were someone I know..." Her voice trailed off.
A hint of doubt registered in her mind as the sight before her wasn't enough to assume he was the guy she remembered all too well. After all, she had never seen his face - considering he always had a mask on. But his eyes. That pair of questioning eyes was unforgettable, especially when she had to encounter them on multiple occasions now.
That reminded her of how he had stopped coming to the café altogether. Contrary to her belief, all the iced Americano he had been drinking had left him unscathed and void of the slightest hint of cold or cough. Maybe it was just her who fell sick after having cold foods when the temperature had suddenly dipped so low.
When Oliver stayed completely still, she dared to lean a bit closer. With her movements slow as a snail to not frighten him again, to make sure he heard her this time. "Are you by any chance, the um-"
She couldn't help but wonder why he kept coming back when all he wanted was a simple Americano; something he could get in possibly every café or the most basic vending machines. But a little voice inside her head told her she already knew why. Because every time he entered the café, his bright eyes kept wandering around, settling only when they anchored on a familiar face. Hers.
The way his gaze was affixed on her face right now was all the affirmation she needed. Though there were a million things she wanted to ask him, she knew she had to start with the simplest one.
Pausing for a breath that tickled his ear, she barely whispered. "Are you the iced Americano guy?"
Random Question: If you see a familiar face in a crowd, would you go ahead and approach them?
A/N: No matter how far you run away from love, if it's meant to be, it'll always find you. It's fate, right? Or is it something else? ;)
What do you think of Oliver so far? And should Oliver tell her that it's him or should he lie? What would you do if you were him? Not a spoiler but this is the last Oliver's Version chapter in this Album so I hope it was a good one. The pace of this slowburn is picking up and it'll only get more exciting and dramatic from here on. Are you excited? *_*
P.S. Hope you're liking the gif banners for each chapter. I've put way too much (and probably unnecessary) time into it but it was super fun and all worth the effort if you liked it *_*
See you soon with a new chapter,